Temporary contract
by Veredis
Summary: What if the price that Minato and Kushina had to pay to summon the Shinigami was not permanent? How will Naruto grow up outside of Konoha guided by a family? Rated M for future content. Pairings as of yet undecided.


"It seems your time has come" a voice echoed in his mind.

"My time, didn't I already die? A voice asked seemingly out of nowhere.

Suddenly a white flash enveloped the room and Minato finally found himself able to look at his corporal body again. Slowly trying to readjust to how it feels.

"You did, both you and your wife. However, the jutsu that you used to summon me is a contract for a set amount of time". A voice called that didn't seem to have an origin.

"And that time has expired? What is to become of me then and how long has it been since Kushina and I have died?" Minato asked.

"5 years and simple, you go back to where you came from" the voice called out.

"Back? You mean to Konoha with Kushina?" Minato asked shocked.

"Such was the nature of our contract, it doesn't matter to me. Everyone dies, no one can escape that. The voice called out without any emotion.

Before Minato could respond he felt a slight pull on his body and before he knew it he hit the ground. His head spinning, Minato tried to catch his breath.

"Ah… what the heck dattebane!" A female voice called out next to him.

That voice could it be… Kushina Minato thought while he was trying to open his eyes and readjust to the lights.

"Kushina" Minato called out.

"Minato you're here too I can't believe this is happening" Kushina said disorientated.

When Minato finally got a grasp of his senses and surrounding he noticed he was in a forest. He could sense some of his Hiaraishin markers nearby which meant he was close to Konoha. Then his eyes fell on the woman beside him. Long red hair reaching her waist, a small round face and clear blue eyes. The woman he loved, Kushina Uzumaki.

"Kushina we're back" Minato said happily.

He immediately felt two arms surround him and he gladly hugged his wife back.

"We got another chance Minato! We can still be a family and have Naruto in our life and take care of him" Kushina said with tears falling down her cheeks.

"Minato we need to go to the village, I want to see my baby" Kushina said.

"Calm down Kushina, we can't just run into the village. Every single person in Konoha thinks we're dead" Minato explained.

"I don't care Kushina said, I need to say my sochi" Kushina said defiantly.

"And we will, I promise but we have to be smart about this. We'll use my Hiraishin to go home. I can still sense the markings that I've put in the house which means that it wasn't destroyed during the Kyuubi's attack" Minato said.

"And then what, we can't exactly use a henge to walk inside the village. Any ANBU, higher ranked shinobi or kunochi is capable of spotting it" Kushina stated.

"I still have some seals in the library which we could use. They can alter our appearance and since the chakra that's used is stored inside the seal instead of surroundings us. The only people who will be able to tell the difference are seal masters who can identify the seal" Minato explained.

A small yellow flash enveloped the darkening evening. Two figures found themselves standing on the outskirts of town, standing in front of a beautiful yet modest mansion. They looked at the village behind them. Most of the damage from the Kyuubi's attack was repaired.

"It seems the village is in the final phases of reconstruction. It's good to see that Konoha is still doing well" Minato said with a smile on his face.

"Will you hurry up Minato, I can't relax until I finally have Naruto in my arms" Kushina said irritated.

Minato looked at his wife who was developing a dark sinister aura around her, which screamed death to anyone who would stand in her way. He gulped.

"Of course Kushina-chan" Minato said and he quickly bit is thumb and spread a bit of his blood on the barrier seal.

As the seal went down Kushina almost ran inside and went straight to the library with Minato in pursuit.

"A here is the scroll" Minato called out while reorganizing some of the scrolls on his desk.

"Kushina, I think we should keep our appearance still somewhat similar to how we actually look. Especially when we confront Naruto" Minato said thoughtfully.

"Alright. So, how does this seal work Minato? Kushina asked.

"The aspects of someone's appearance are incorporated inside the seal, like: hair color, eye color, facial structure, height, weight etc. We add the desired values for these categories inside the seal to correspond to what we want to look like. After that I'll place the seal on you and you just have to channel some chakra in it" Minato explained.

"All right let's do this and then we can finally search for Naruto" Kushina said with determination.

"We also have to change clothes Kushina. I can't exactly walk out in my standard hokage outfit. Try to pick something that you haven't worn a lot.

Ten minutes later a young woman with long blond hair, a small round face, grey eyes and a beautiful blue dress was walking out of the mansion. Behind her followed a man with black spiky hair, green eyes, blue ninja pants, black sandals and a black shirt with symbol of Konoha on his chest.

While the pair was making their way into the village they noticed it was boisterous for a regular evening. Small stands were located among the streets where people could play a game, get something to eat or something to drink.

"It seems like some sort of festival Minato" Kushina said while she was observing everything that was happening. '_Oh Naruto where are you'_ Kushina thought worried.

"Indeed, maybe it has something to do with the Kyuubi, it has been exactly five years since it nearly destroyed the village" Minato said while scanning his surroundings for a child with blond hair, blue eyes and whisker marks.

In the red light district of Konoha, laughter and cheers of joy could be heard from the streets. Shinobi and civilians looking for female company or pleasantly enjoying themselves on alcohol.

A small boy looked out of a cracked window while sitting on a small worn out bed. He was looking outside at the people on the streets. They seemed happy without a care in the world. Children were enjoying the company and safety of their parents. The sight caused the boy to let a few tears run down his cheeks.

Oh how he hated this day, his birthday. He knew almost everybody in the village hated him. The beatings he got, the glares that people gave him, the whispers behind his back. He couldn't even remember a time when it was different.

But his birthday was always the worst day of the year. The beatings he received every year on this day usually put him in the hospital for a week, even with his above normal regeneration. Although last year was by far the worst. He was not sure if he could ever get rid of the nightmares that haunted him since that night.

Suddenly his door got kicked open and four people walked inside of his apartment.

"You thought that you could hide from us demon?" one of the man asked with a smirk on his face

He looked at the people that entered his apartment with a scared look on his face. By their outfits it looked like two of them were ninja's, which meant there was no way for him to escape.

He gulped unsure if he would make it out alive this year.

Minato and Kushina were waking past a food stand when they heard something that gave them both a sinking feeling inside of their stomach.

"So, are there any plans for the demon this year" one of the villagers asked.

"Probably, I still can't believe the sandaime allowed that thing to live. It should have been killed when it was still a baby" another villager responded.

"Well you know how it usually goes this day of the year. Maybe if we get lucky they finally manage to kill the Kyuubi brat tonight.

"I did hear that some people were planning on busting in his apartment in the red light district. He usually hides there" a chunin said.

"the demon actually has an apartment? One of the villagers asked shocked. I thought it just lived on the streets after it was kicked out of the orphanage" a villager said.

"No the sandaime actually gave him an apartment. It lives in the half abandoned building across from 'Leg Up' you know the fancy whore house" the chunin responded.

Minato and Kushina didn't move from their spot. Trying to process the information they just heard.

Kushina's face was pale. _No! How could they, how could they treat him like this_. Tears were falling down her face. We have to find him, we have to get him away from here. I can't lose him.

Minato has a said of different thoughts crossing his mind. His son, his own child hated for the burden that he was responsible for. He felt awful.

"Minato!" Kushina said "we have to find him NOW" she stated with desperation in her voice.

She's right, the most important thing right now is to find Naruto and make sure he's safe. He grabbed her hand and they shunshined in the general direction of the red light district.

He couldn't run anymore. After a number of punches and slashes he managed to give his captors the slip. But the four people who were after him were soon followed by more as other villagers found out what was going on. He had nowhere to hide and he wasn't as fast as some of the ninja among his hunters. It would only be a matter of time before they would catch him again.

He knew that the people with the masks only came just before anything fatal could be done to him. There were only three he actually liked; Inu (Dog), Neko (Cat) and Karasu (Crow). They were the only ones who actually helped him. Maybe if he remained close enough to his apartment the chance that one of them will find him will be higher.

They arrived in front of a rundown building which consisted of two levels. When they opened the door and walked to the first floor they saw something that made them even angrier than they were before. The corridor was littered with graffiti statements like:" Murderer, demon and you should have been killed"

When they got closer to the door they noticed it was open. Slowly they made their way inside of the apartment.

"Kami, Minato. We're too late nobody is here, we have to find him" Kushina said with a panicked look on her face.

"You're right Kushina, here take one of my kunai. We'll split up, if you find Naruto use the kunai to call me. If I find him I'll use my sensory abilities to find you.

Both of them gave a last look at the apartment; broken windows, graffiti and furniture that was close to breaking down. They gave each other look a of understanding that said: "This will stop tonight!".

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Greetings,

Sorry to leave it at a cliff-hanger. Anyway, this is my first fanfic. I've been reading them for about a year and decided to give it a try. This story is something that I've been thinking about for quite some time. As English is not my first language and this is my first fanfic, the quality of my writings will be not be top notch at the start. Being a good/decent writer comes from experience. I hope the quality of the story will improve as I get more experience writing chapters.

Story-wise; Naruto will nog grow up in Konoha but he will most likely come back to Konoha when he gets older. The future chapters that I'm currently writing will be between 5k-10k words.

Constructive feedback is always welcome!


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